Frankenstein and the Enlightenment
Literature: Long Essay on Frankenstein
Cormac O’Brien
2 AB Literrature
Ms Hearne
“We never meet people in fiction, just characters who we can read to represent different individuals, groups and ideas. Explore some of the representations you find most interesting in Frankenstein.”
1,745 Words
Written in 1818 and conceived from a nightmare, the gothic novel of Frankenstein is one of the most chilling and deeply disturbing stories ever told. The novel has transcended time periods, and today is still one of the most profound novels to be studied, exploring concepts such as life, love and existence. One of the key themes presented through the story is the dangerous pursuit of knowledge, portrayed through the journey and eventual demise of many of the characters throughout the book. The thirst for power and glory that many individuals in the book exhibit is an accurate reflection of the context in which the book was produced, demonstrating how, over the course of the enlightenment, there was a surge of reformation through reason and logical thinking, and a major shift away from the values of nature and love, characteristic of romanticism. Thus, in a time of radical change of thought, the Mary Shelley uses the ambitions and hungers of certain characters in the novel to represent specific points on a scale of romanticism versus empiricism, and their ultimate endpoint to represent how the search for knowledge present throughout the enlightenment damaged the core of the society of the time.
The dangers of the vicious pursuit of knowledge is a theme most common in the character of Victor Frankenstein, with his hunger for glory and his ambitions for ultimate power over nature leading himself to death. Through the character of Victor, the novel represents the highly intellectual portion of society, and demonstrates clearly how Victor’s intellect and abandon of romantic conventions led him to his own demise. From a young age, Victor’s exposure to the scientific and
Cormac O’Brien
2 AB Literrature
Ms Hearne
“We never meet people in fiction, just characters who we can read to represent different individuals, groups and ideas. Explore some of the representations you find most interesting in Frankenstein.”
1,745 Words
Written in 1818 and conceived from a nightmare, the gothic novel of Frankenstein is one of the most chilling and deeply disturbing stories ever told. The novel has transcended time periods, and today is still one of the most profound novels to be studied, exploring concepts such as life, love and existence. One of the key themes presented through the story is the dangerous pursuit of knowledge, portrayed through the journey and eventual demise of many of the characters throughout the book. The thirst for power and glory that many individuals in the book exhibit is an accurate reflection of the context in which the book was produced, demonstrating how, over the course of the enlightenment, there was a surge of reformation through reason and logical thinking, and a major shift away from the values of nature and love, characteristic of romanticism. Thus, in a time of radical change of thought, the Mary Shelley uses the ambitions and hungers of certain characters in the novel to represent specific points on a scale of romanticism versus empiricism, and their ultimate endpoint to represent how the search for knowledge present throughout the enlightenment damaged the core of the society of the time.
The dangers of the vicious pursuit of knowledge is a theme most common in the character of Victor Frankenstein, with his hunger for glory and his ambitions for ultimate power over nature leading himself to death. Through the character of Victor, the novel represents the highly intellectual portion of society, and demonstrates clearly how Victor’s intellect and abandon of romantic conventions led him to his own demise. From a young age, Victor’s exposure to the scientific and